[Introduced January 12, 1996; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization.]

____________

A BILL to authorize the municipalities of Cairo, Harrisville and
Pennsboro to construct and maintain a centralized water
treatment plant, storage facilities and transmission lines
for the purpose of providing potable water to the residents
of those municipalities; authorizing the municipalities to
create the Hughes river water board to assume ownership of
the facilities; and membership.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:HUGHES RIVER WATER BOARD.§1. Municipalities of Cairo, Harrisville and Pennsboro
authorized to create and join the Hughes River Water
Board.
The municipalities of Cairo, Harrisville and Pennsboro are
hereby authorized and empowered to create a joint endeavor of the
three governing authorities and join a board to be known as the
Hughes River Water Board to own and operate a centralized water
treatment plant, water storage facilities and transmission lines to provide the residents of these municipalities with potable
water.§2. Board of directors; appointment; powers and duties
generally; officers; bylaws; rules.
There shall be a board of directors, consisting of one
member from each of the participating municipalities, who shall
serve without compensation. Before the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-six, the municipality of Cairo shall
appoint one member of the board of directors for the term of
three years. The municipality of Harrisville shall appoint one
member for the term of four years. The municipality of Pennsboro
shall appoint one member for the term of five years. The initial
terms of office shall commence on the first day of July, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-six. Each successor member of the
board of directors shall be appointed by the respective
municipality that appointed the predecessor member and each
successor member shall be appointed for a term of three years,
except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy occurring
before the expiration of the term shall serve only for the
unexpired portion thereof. Any member of the board shall be
eligible for reappointment and the appointing municipality which
appointed the member may remove that member for cause. There
shall be an annual meeting of the board of directors on the
second Monday in July of each year and a monthly meeting on the
day in each month which the board may designate in its bylaws.
A special meeting may be called by the president or any two members of the board and shall be held only after all of the
directors are given notice thereto in writing. At all meetings
two members shall constitute a quorum and at each annual meeting
of the board of directors it shall elect, from its membership, a
president, a vice president, a secretary and a treasurer:
Provided, That a member may be elected both secretary and
treasurer. The board of directors shall adopt those bylaws and
rules that are necessary for its own guidance and for the
administration, supervision and protection of the water board and
all of the property belonging to the water board. The board of
directors have all the powers necessary, convenient and advisable
for the proper operation, equipment and management of the water
board; and except as otherwise especially provided in this act,
have the powers and be subject to the duties which are conferred
and imposed, upon cooperating municipalities by article
twenty-three, chapter eight of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended. The qualifications
of the directors shall be determined by each participating
municipality.§3. Same--A body corporate.
The Hughes River Water Board hereby created shall be a
corporation. As such it may contract and be contracted with, sue
and be sued, plead and be impleaded, and shall have and use a
common seal.§4. Title to property.
The title to all property, both real and personal, now devoted to the water facilities that will provide potable water
to the residents of the municipalities in connection with the
operation by it shall vest in the board of directors of the
Hughes River Water Board, hereby created.§5. Support, maintenance and operation.
Each governing authority of the municipalities that provide
membership to the board of directors or that are served by the
water facilities governed by the board hereby created may support
the board with any other general or special revenues or excess
levies. All income realized by the operation of the water board
from any sources shall be used by the board of directors for the
support of the Hughes River Water Board.§6. Deposit and disbursement of funds.
All money collected or appropriated by the three governing
authorities for water board purposes shall be deposited in a
special account for the Hughes River Water Board, and shall be
disbursed by the board for the purpose of operating a public
water system.§7. Workers' compensation; social security and public employees'
retirement benefits for employees.
All employees of the Hughes River Water Board hereby created
shall be entitled to the benefits of the provisions of chapter
twenty-three, and articles seven and ten, chapter five of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended.§8. Effect of future amendments of general law.
Amendments to article twenty-three, chapter eight of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, and other general laws shall control this act only to
the extent that they do not conflict with the special features
hereof, or unless the intent to amend this act is clear and
unmistakable.§9. Severability.
If any provision hereof is held invalid, such invalidity
shall not affect other provisions hereof which can be given
effect without the invalid provision, and to this end the
provisions of this act are declared to be severable.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a public water
board to operate a centralized water treatment plant, water
storage facilities and transmission to provide potable water to
the residents of Cairo, Harrisville and Pennsboro, West Virginia.